As police services in Canada deal with several recent on-duty deaths and injuries involving frontline personnel, Doug Ford says he wants to see an emergency discussion with the country’s premiers on boosting protections for officers.
During an unrelated news conference in downtown Toronto Tuesday afternoon, Ford was asked about the jump in officer deaths and injuries.
While expressing condolences to families of those recently killed and injured, he said he wrote PEI Premier Rob Lantz — chair of the Council of the Federation (COF), the body that’s made up of Canada’s 13 provincial and territorial leaders — asking for the issue to be discussed when COF meets in Charlottetown later in July.
“It hits home to every police service coast to coast to coast,” Ford said, noting he has three sons-in-law who are police officers.
“We need to catch these criminals, we need to throw them in jail for life, and that’s what we need to do; this is devastating.”
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He didn’t elaborate on potential measures that could be raised for consideration during the meeting.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, which falls under the purview of the federal government, anyone accused of killing a police officer, a prison guard or personnel responsible for maintaining public peace is automatically charged with first-degree murder even if it wasn’t planned and deliberate.
The comments came a day after a 34-year-old Montreal police officer was fatally shot while exchanging gunfire with a suspect outside a hotel in the city’s Côte-des-Neiges district. The 25-year-old suspect from Lethbridge, Alta., died during the same incident.
Multiple Quebec media outlets reported the suspect wrote a manifesto, which reportedly called for violence. A police spokesperson in B.C. said police officers in the province were warned of the possibility of an anti-police manifesto linked to the Montreal shooting.
Earlier in June, Toronto Police Service Const. Marc Pinizzotto died while exchanging gunfire with a suspect while the emergency task force was executing a search warrant at a west-end apartment. Suspects wanted in connection with the incident were later arrested and charged.
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Shortly before that, Ontario Provincial Police Const. Tarun Bali was fatally struck by a vehicle in Hearst (northwest of Timmins). The 18-year-old driver, who officers said escaped from a hospital while being assessed under Ontario’s Mental Health Act, was subsequently arrested and charged.
On June 15, a Toronto police officer was injured after being hit by a vehicle on the Leaside Bridge. Authorities said the officer was attempting to stop a vehicle reported as stolen. During the course of the incident, Ontario’s police watchdog said the officer fired their weapon. A 12-year-old, who can’t be identified due to provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was subsequently injured. It wasn’t clear if the injuries were caused by a gunshot wound. The accused was later charged with several offences, including attempted murder.
In Mississauga on Sunday, Peel Regional Police representatives said a 24-year-old was charged after firing gunshots at an officer attempting to question the accused. A police statement said a suspicious person was seen leaving an establishment at around 4:30 a.m.
While speaking publicly on Monday, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said 15 on-duty officers have been killed since 2020. University of Ottawa researchers said 416 officers across Canada have died in the line of duty since 1962.
“There’s a brazenness there today that perhaps didn’t exist a decade ago,” Peter Moreira, president of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and the chief of the Durham Regional Police Service, told CityNews on Tuesday, noting he believes violence toward frontline officers has become more prevalent in recent years.
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“While we talk about the loss of life, I think it’s equally important to talk about the near-misses.
“We can’t simply look at the statistics in terms of deaths, but also the injuries that are happening and the psychological impact that officers face when they go out there and they’re encountering very violent people with greater frequency.”
Justin Piché, a criminology professor with the University of Ottawa, told CityNews that officers are less likely to die as a result of violence now than decades ago due to a variety of reasons, including better training and health care. He said vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death followed closely by gunfire.
“A short-term cluster doesn’t necessarily make for a longer-term trend,” he said.
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“Canada is a huge country. There [are] 75,000 police officers, 40 million people; research can only do so much. A lot of this is unpredictable and there’s only so much that can be done to prevent it and foresee it.”
Meanwhile, during his remarks, Carrique also referenced the 2022 roadside death of OPP Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala in Hagersville. He called the death preventable and said he hopes sweeping changes coming to the Criminal Code of Canada will result in fewer tragedies.
“The changes we will see in Bill C-14 (legislation primarily aimed at bail reform) — I hope and I pray if executed as designed — will prevent further violence in our communities, it will protect your police officers, it will protect victims … of crime,” Carrique said.
With files from Kelsey Patterson and The Canadian Press